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Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Application Customization > Record Type Application Customization Page > Setting Up Concatenated Fields

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Setting Up Concatenated Fields

A concatenated field is a field that can display the values from multiple fields and can also display additional text. You set up concatenated fields when you want to combine values from a number of individual fields and you want to display this information on record Detail pages, Edit pages, related information sections, and lists. For more information on concatenated fields, see About Concatenated Fields.

You can also optionally include expressions in concatenated fields, to determine the behavior of the fields and text within the concatenated field. For example, you can include an expression that results in certain text within the concatenated field being changed or removed if a user changes the value in another field on the record. As another example, you can include an expression that results in a default value being displayed in a field within the concatenated field, if the same field on the record is blank. The following is an example of an expression in a concatenated field:

The account name is %%%[{Name}]%%%%%%IIf(IfNull([{Region}],'X') = 'X', '.', ' and the account is from the '+[{Region}]+' region.')%%%

In this example, the expression evaluates the value for the Region field. If the field is null, then the sentence is finished with a period immediately after the account name, and no information about the region is displayed. If the Region field is not null, then the remaining text and the value of the Region field are displayed.

Limitations When Setting Up Concatenated Fields

Consider the following limitations when setting up concatenated fields:

  • The following Expression Builder functions only are supported for use in concatenated fields:
    • FieldValue
    • FindNoneOf
    • FindOneOf
    • IfNull
    • IIf
    • InStr
    • Left
    • Len
    • LN
    • LookupName
    • LookupValue
    • Mid
    • Right
  • The maximum number of characters that can be included in the definition of the content of a concatenated field is 500. This includes the field names, function names, and text, as well as braces, brackets, line breaks, percent signs, spaces and special characters. A line break counts as two characters. You cannot enter more than 500 characters directly in the Display Text field. If you edit the display text in Expression Builder, and if more than 500 characters are included, then the following happens after you click Save in Expression Builder and return to the Edit Fields page:
    • If you try to edit the contents of the Display Text field, then the content of the Display Text field is truncated to 500 characters.
    • If you try to save the field configuration, then you receive an error message.

For more information about expressions and Expression Builder, see Using Expression Builder and About Expressions.

To set up concatenated fields in Oracle CRM On Demand, complete the steps in the following procedure. For more information on restrictions when using concatenated fields, see Restrictions When Using Concatenated Fields.

To set up a concatenated field

  1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
  2. In the Application Customization section, click the Application Customization link.
  3. In the Record Types Setup section, click the link for the required record type.
  4. In the Field Management section, click record type Field Setup.
  5. If the concatenated field does not already exist, then create a concatenated field.

    For more information, see Creating and Editing Fields.

  6. On the Fields page, click the Edit Fields link for the concatenated field.
  7. On the Edit Fields page, complete the following fields where applicable:
    1. Field Display Name. This field is read-only.
    2. User and System Fields. Select an option from the User and System Fields list to add parameter fields to the Display Text field at the current position of the cursor.

      For example, if you choose User id from the list, then %%%User id%%% is inserted into the Display Text field, depending on where your cursor is positioned. At run time, this parameter is replaced with the user ID of the user who is logged in.

      For more information, see User and System Fields.

    3. Record Type Fields. Place your cursor in the Display Text field where you want to add a field, and then select the field that you want to include from the list.

      For example, if you select the field Row id, then %%%Row id%%% is inserted into the Display Text field, depending on where your cursor is positioned. At run time, this parameter is replaced with the row ID of the current record.

      NOTE: Record Type refers to the record type for which you are setting up the concatenated field. For example, if you are editing a concatenated field for a contact record, this field appears as the Contacts Fields list.

    4. Mark for Translation. Select this check box if you want this concatenated field to appear in other activated languages.
    5. Display Text. Shows the fields and additional text that make up the concatenated field. In the Display Text field, you can specify the fields for the record type, user and system fields, additional text, and expressions.

      For example, if you want to set up a concatenated field that is based on the Job Title and Age fields, then you can select Job Title from Record Type Fields, type the text “, aged”, and select Age from Record Type Fields. The following text is then shown in the Display Text field:

      %%%Job Title%%%, aged %%%Age%%%

      Then, for example, the following might be displayed in the concatenated field:

      Manager, aged 41

      You can use the Enter key in the Display Text field to specify that text and fields appear on separate lines in the concatenated field.

      You can type an expression directly in the Display Text field, or you can use Expression Builder. To open Expression Builder, click the fx icon.

      TIP: You can also edit the contents of the concatenated field in Expression Builder. For example, you can add or remove text and fields. Any changes that you make in the Expression field in Expression Builder appear in the Display Text field after you click Save in Expression Builder to return to the Edit Fields page.

  8. When you finish setting up the concatenated field, click Save.
  9. Add the concatenated field to the Detail page.

    For more information, see Customizing Static Page Layouts.

Related Topics

See the following topics for related information:
Published 6/21/2021 Copyright © 2005, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates. Legal Notices.